I Love Guns and Coffee --- Venti

I was reading and catching up on the news when I came across the story Adrian Broadway, Teen, Allegedly Gunned Down By Willie Noble Over Egging Prank. The headline captures the essence of the story well.

First thought, WOW. 

Second thought, too many stories like this.

Third thought, share the story with my family and friends via Facebook with the comment, be careful out there.

During the process of typing that comment I began to vent, the edited vent follows:

Stricter gun laws will not solve the problem of murder at its root, however, stricter gun laws can help reduce some of the killing by those with mental issues and criminal backgrounds.

Federal and state legislation are needed to enhance the screening process used to obtain guns. At worst, an intense process would be an annoyance for those of us whom use our firearms legally in a sane manner. At best, if implemented properly, would help (not guarantee) prevent those with mental issues, and criminal backgrounds from obtaining weapons legally. 

I don't know the alleged shooter Willie, I do know his reported act of coming out guns blazing over an egging is extreme. If this story is true as reported, Willie should be convicted of 2nd degree murder. The recent verdict in the Dunn trial is shameful and is what it is, but should not set a precedent (Dunn should have been convicted of 2nd degree murder or voluntary manslaughter---his act of coming out guns blazing during his encounter was extreme).

To those who appose new gun legislation, I get it. Guns don't kill people, people kill people --- sometimes using guns. I concede legislation will not prevent 100% of criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining guns illegally, or prevent murder 100% of the time. Nevertheless, is an annoyance not worth the possibility of preventing one person with a mental illness or history of criminal activity from obtaining a gun legally?

Is an annoyance not worth the possibility of preventing one person from using a gun to take a life?   

Maybe Willie Noble and Michael Dunn have mental issues, maybe they don't. New requirements and background checks may or may not have prevented the events, it's impossible to know. We do know gun violence is a problem and a change in the law can be a part of the solution.

I love my guns and coffee like the next man and woman, but c'mon man. Events like Adrian Broadway, Teen, Allegedly Gunned Down By Willie Noble Over Egging Prank are beyond ridiculous.

Think at Your Own Risk --- The Reid Report [watch that]

If you don't know Joy Reid, you will.

Watch her new show.

Black History Month --- To Be or Not to Be

To be; U.S. Black History Week was created in 1926; historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." Black History Week was not universally accepted, however, Departments of Education of the states of North Carolina, Delaware, and West Virginia, as well as the city school administrations of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. cooperated. 

At the time of Negro History Week's launch Woodson contended that the teaching of black history was essential to ensure the physical and intellectual survival of the race within broader society:

"If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated. The American Indian left no continuous record. He did not appreciate the value of tradition, and where is he today? The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself. In spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization."

The leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University first proposed the expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month in February 1969. The first celebration of the Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970. In 1976, the U.S. government officially recognized the informal expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month.

Not to be; black history is American history, thus there isn’t a need to separate the two. Asian Pacific history is American history, thus there isn't a need to separate the two.

In 2005, Morgan Freeman told 60 Minutes’ Mike Wallace that Black History Month was ridiculous.

“Why?” asked a surprised Wallace.

“You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” asked Freeman, visibly annoyed.

“Which month is Jewish History Month?” Wallace conceded that there wasn’t one.

“Do you want one?” Freeman pressed.

“No, no,” stated Wallace.

Well, Freeman concluded, “I don’t want a Black History Month either. Black history is American history.”

In short – Black History Month is an anachronism that isolates the history of African Americans to a single month, reinforcing the very segregation the observance was intended to counteract.

My thought, Black History Month is to be, if only under the guise of tradition, it should remain. I do assert the founders of Black History Week and Black History Month would have continued to seek further expansion and never set out to establish the tradition as we know it. I suggest they would’ve saw the success in expanding from a week to a month, and aimed for a Black History Quarter, and lastly from quarter to full curriculum integration yearly. Somehow that goal was lost over time.

Black History Month, Women’s History Month, South Asian Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month (ironically establish in 2006 a year after the Freeman/Wallace 60 Minutes interview), Caribbean-American Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, Alaska Native Heritage Month, Confederate History Month, and any “History Month” I may have missed are not needed, but have become traditions, and in some cases commercial successes.

I acknowledge and appreciate the purpose behind Black History Month. However, many are not convinced of the benefits or purpose. We must be careful to ensure that the indifference towards this annual celebration is not allowed to become cynical and jaded about what it stands for. On the other hand, we must not become cynical or jaded in keeping the February designation just because. I suggest Black History Month continues every February [same for other "History Months"), and let's establish a white history month. Regardless of the various history months, overall, we must seek for American history to be taught accurately and unabashed by what American history entails and provokes, even if that means learning and teaching our history yourself.

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Good News: 9-Year-Old With Cancer Becomes Detroit Police Chief, Learns Everyone Is Rooting For Him

When Jayvon Felton's mom took him to the hospital in April, she thought he had a stomach virus. Instead, the 9-year-old was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and kept in intensive care for more than a month as his mother slept in a chair by his side, night after night.

While his recovery isn't over, the spirited fourth grader showed his courage and caring on Friday. He got a chance to try out his dream job: not a movie star, not a professional athlete, but Detroit police chief.

"When he was little, he always talked about the police, how they make things safe," Jayvon's mom, Amanda Clinkscales, told The Huffington Post. "He told me, 'Mom, when I get older I want to fight crime and help people.'" When he found out about Friday's adventure, "his bottom lip just dropped" in excitement, Clinkscales said.

The opportunity was arranged with the Children's Hospital of Michigan to lift Jayvon's spirits as he undergoes grueling treatment -- his mom said he will have chemotherapy for over three more years. With an incredibly vulnerable immune system, Jayvon has been kept at home as his peers attend school. He won't return until next year.

But on Friday, he donned a kid-sized uniform and was picked up by police officers at his home in Detroit for the chance of a lifetime.

After a ride in their cruisers, they took a helicopter over the city before landing at headquarters, where Jayvon met Detroit Police Chief James Craig. He was then sworn into office. He saw the workings of the department and gave a press conference, putting aside his illness for a day and showing the trademark silliness that his mom loves about him.

"You got any orders?” Craig asked him, according to the Detroit News. “Take the day off,” Jayvon joked.

"It was just so amazing to see him so grown up and so mature," Clinkscales said. "It made me a proud mom, I was just so happy to see him happy."

Not every moment has been happy in the last months. Jayvon gets multiple kinds of chemotherapy, including lumbar punctures. When he first started treatment, the medicine made him sick and he couldn't eat. He dropped from 100 pounds to about 60, his mom said. He lost his hair, and his mom said he often missed his friends and worried they would forget him when he couldn't see them for months on end. He told his mom he just wished he could be a regular kid again.

"I was like, 'Jayvon, you are a regular kid,'" Clinkscales said. "I try to keep positive, I just hope he keeps fighting."

So one of the best parts of Friday was the pizza party. Jayvon's classmates and principal came to the police station, where they all got to spend time together.

It was a powerful moment for cops too. “I can only imagine the strength and courage it takes for this young man, police chief, to fight this illness every day,” said Craig, according to the Free Press.

Most importantly, his mom said, Jayvon got a chance to see that people were rooting for him.

"He's not going through this alone. Family, friends, we're all here for him 100 percent."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/01/jayvon-felton-detroit-police_n_4702960.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&ir=Black%20Voices

Author: Kate Abbey-Lambertz

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